Akram Khan’s DESH is a modern and refreshing personal story told in dance, at Toronto’s Blum Appel Theatre

This rainy Hallowe’en Akram Khan’s newest solo had its North American Premier at Canadian Stage. DESH was a tour de force production created by a stellar team team of artists. Peeling off my wet layers in the lobby I was almost shivering with anticipation.

What can I say about DESH? With its minimalist aesthetics, beautiful storytelling and engaging theme it was everything I wanted in a dance piece. DESH was obvious in the most unexpected way. As it unfolded, it was the most natural thing ever. Continue reading Review: DESH (Akram Khan Company and Canadian Stage) →

Toronto’s Alameda Theatre Company’s 2013 De Colores Festival of New Works is a celebration of Latin theatre in Canada showcasing new works in development

For the first time I found myself at Theatre Direct Studios for Alameda Theatre Company’s 2013 De Colores Festival of New Works. The space, for anyone else who hasn’t been there, is a beautiful cozy theatre in the Wychwood Barns, well suited for the intimacy of the evenings’ readings.

De Colores Festival is dedicated to providing a safe place for Latin American Canadian writers to develop new works. Each night of the festival a new script or two are read along with a short work by the Nueva Voz Youth Ensemble. On Thursday, Have You Lost Something? by Flavia Hevia, and Solaz by Jefferson Guzman were presented.

Continue reading Review: De Colores Festival of New Works (Alameda Theatre Company) →

ProArteDanza’s Season 2013 is filled with stunning and exceptionally performed choreography playing at Toronto’s Fleck Dance Theatre

I think I have seen all of ProArteDanza’s Seasons and every year they deliver the goods. This year sitting once again in the Fleck Dance Theatre watching the spectacular dancers that make up Season 2013, ProArteDanza showed that they followed through with their commitment to excellent dance.

The evening consisted of two 2011 works, Shifting Silence and Fractals: a pattern of chaos; and one world premiere, Beethoven’s 9^th – 3^rd Movement. Choreographers Robert Glumbek, Roberto Campanella, and Guillaume Côté have a contemporary work that highlights all artists balletic backgrounds in Season 2013. Featured in these three dances were some of Toronto’s strongest dancers including Valerie Calam, Justin de Luna, Tyler Gledhill, Mami Hata, Benjamin Landsberg, Ryan Lee, Delphine Leroux, Erin Poole, Anisa Tejpar, and Katherina Nakui. Continue reading Review: Season 2013 (ProArteDanza) →

Examining the struggles of living in rural Nova Scotia, Bone Cage is playing at Toronto’s Hart House Theatre

I have a habit of going into see a show completely blind: by reading as little as possible about it. I enjoy finding out about the work as the actors play it. Going in to see Bone Cage at Hart House, I was unaware that Catherine Banks, the playwright,  was the recipient of the 2008 Governor General’s Literary Award for Drama.

Bone Cage is a dark play that explores the emotional turmoil of 5 people living in rural Nova Scotia. Each character has their own story line about the harsh life of working the land and living in a tough working class Canadian village. Continue reading Review: Bone Cage (Hart House Theatre) →

Wheelwright’s If One Night performed at Toronto’s Trinity St. Paul’s – a new touring music-theatre show that gave theatre a good reimagining

Have you ever been to something that you just wanted to tell everyone about? Well If One Night: A Collodion Remedy by Wheelwright was one of those. I loved it. I was invited to see it by a friend, one of the writers. A bunch of my friends were going so I decided to tag along. It turned out to be such a great decision I asked if I could write a review about it.

Wheelwright sold If One Night as “a new touring music-theatre show”. The theatre part of the show is about 3 individuals who obsessively move cities. The narrative follows their logic, as each of the characters tries to explain to us their silent, yet unignorable desire to emigrate to a new city. The music part comes in the form of 5 local bands and musicians playing between the actors scenes.

Continue reading Review: If One Night: A Collodion Remedy (Wheelwright) →